Politics
Mussington vehicle case: trial of Collectivité president and four vice-presidents postponed to January
The criminal court in Saint-Martin postponed the vehicle case against Collectivité President Louis Mussington and four vice-presidents to 13–15 January 2027, at the request of all defence lawyers, according to Faxinfo and Le Pélican. None of the five attended, and no ruling on the merits was made. All are presumed innocent.
By SXM Daily ·
The criminal court in Saint-Martin (Marigot) on 7 October postponed the trial of Collectivité President Louis Mussington and four Collectivité vice-presidents, Bernadette Davis, Alain Richardson, Dominique Louisy and Michel Petit, in the case over Collectivité vehicles. All of the defence lawyers asked for the delay, according to Soualiga Post, Faxinfo and Le Pélican, which each reported on the hearing.
The trial is now set for 13 to 15 January 2027, according to Faxinfo and Le Pélican. Soualiga Post reports that it will open on 13 January at 8:30 a.m. According to Faxinfo, the court judged three days necessary to examine the file. No arguments on the merits were heard and no verdict was given, the outlets report. All five defendants are presumed innocent.
What happened in court
None of the five defendants attended the hearing, all three outlets report. According to Faxinfo, Mussington's lawyer produced a medical certificate for him dated 2 October. No certificate was produced for any of the four vice-presidents, Faxinfo and Le Pélican report.
Faxinfo reports that a substitute lawyer, Angelina Jolly-Nicolas, stood in for the four vice-presidents' lawyers, who were in Guadeloupe or Martinique. The defence said it had not had enough time to study the case file, according to Soualiga Post and Faxinfo.
The prosecution opposed the postponement. According to Le Pélican, it raised possible "conséquences" (consequences). Faxinfo names the substitute prosecutor as Élodie Rouchouse. The prosecution's arguments that day were about the postponement only, not about the case itself.
What the case is about
According to Soualiga Post and Le Pélican, the charges read out in court are favoritism in public contracts and misappropriation of public property. On favoritism, the prosecution alleges that vehicle rental contracts continued after the original contract expired and that rental firms were chosen directly without competitive tendering. On misappropriation, it alleges personal use of official vehicles paid for by the Collectivité.
Soualiga Post earlier reported that the alleged facts date from 2023 to 2026, and that the favoritism charge carries a maximum of two years in prison and a €200,000 fine.
The court also cited alleged amounts, equal to rental costs, for each defendant, according to Le Pélican: €32,082 each for Louisy, Davis and Petit, €63,459 for Richardson and over €99,000 for Mussington. Soualiga Post reports a range of €32,082.33 to €99,858.50. These amounts are allegations from the charges. No court has ruled on them.
Context
This is the second Mussington trial to be postponed in a week. On 5 October the same court postponed his separate trial over the hiring of relatives, which Le Pélican reports remains set for 11 January 2027. SXM Daily covered that hearing: https://sxmdaily.com/news/article/louis-mussington-family-hiring-trial-postponed. Le Pélican reports that both cases will now be heard between 11 and 15 January 2027.
Before the October hearings, Dominique Nicolas, Mussington's lawyer in both cases, said he would seek postponements, and he called the case files "mal ficelés, mal menés" (badly put together, badly handled), Le Pélican reported. Outre-mer La 1ère also reported the second postponement in a headline.
No official court or prosecution record of either postponement has been published online, and French court hearing lists are not public, so this report relies on the outlets named above.
What it means for residents
None of the reports describe any immediate practical change for residents. The case now waits until January.
What's next
The vehicle case is due back in court from 13 to 15 January 2027, according to Faxinfo and Le Pélican, with a start on 13 January at 8:30 a.m., according to Soualiga Post. Mussington's family-hiring trial is set for 11 January 2027, Le Pélican reports. All five defendants are presumed innocent until a court rules otherwise.
Sources
- http://www.soualigapost.com/fr/actualite/53211/justice/absents-%C3%A0-l%E2%80%99audience-louis-mussington-et-ses-quatre-vice-pr%C3%A9sidents
- https://www.faxinfo.fr/tribunal-le-proces-du-president-mussington-et-de-ses-quatre-vp-renvoye-a-janvier-2027/
- https://www.lepelican-journal.com/proces-des-elus-louis-mussington-et-les-quatre-vice-presidents-de-la-collectivite-juges-en-janvier-2027/
- https://www.lepelican-journal.com/proces-mussington-et-des-elus-rendez-vous-en-2027-pour-les-audiences/
- https://www.soualigapost.com/fr/actualite/53186/justice/louis-mussington-devant-la-justice-d%C3%A8s-lundi-ses-quatre-vice-pr%C3%A9sidents-%C3%A0
- https://www.lepelican-journal.com/proces-mussington-des-dossiers-mal-ficeles-dapres-lavocat-de-la-defense/
- https://la1ere.franceinfo.fr/guadeloupe/favoritisme-et-detournement-de-bien-public-a-saint-martin-le-2nd-proces-de-louis-mussigton-egalement-renvoye-1745802.html
- https://sxmdaily.com/news/article/louis-mussington-family-hiring-trial-postponed